November 13, 2009 in Business

Avista fights labor ruling

NLRB will hear dispute over dispatchers’ status

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Whether Avista Utilities crew dispatchers qualify as supervisors will be decided by the National Labor Relations Board, once that labor-regulating body fills vacancies on its panel.

A Seattle NLRB regional director recently ruled in favor of a Spokane local that argued that dispatchers are not supervisors and can join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

The Spokane-based power utility has more than 350,000 customers. It employs 10 dispatchers who work inside a central dispatch center that responds to outages. Their job is to monitor events and decide who to send into the field.

Following the Seattle ruling, Avista attorneys persuaded the full NLRB in Washington, D.C., to review the case. No date for that review has been set.

The NLRB normally has five board members. At present three of the seats are vacant awaiting confirmation of new members appointed by the Obama administration.

A representative from Spokane’s IBEW Local 77 said the Avista dispatchers have petitioned that group for representation. The IBEW represents more than 600 other Avista workers.

In ruling the dispatchers are eligible to join a union, the Seattle regional director said utility dispatchers do assign workers to respond to problems but they do not supervise that work.

In appealing that decision, Avista attorneys argued dispatchers have significant authority and exercise independent judgment when dealing with complex problems.

Attorneys familiar with NLRB actions said the Avista appeal won’t be scheduled for review until the board grows to at least four members.

One comment on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Pat O'Leary on November 13 at 6:18 p.m.

  SOP for American business, pay lawyers and the executive suite millions and beat it out of the little guys at the bottom. What does the CEO of Avista make now? $3, $4 million a year? This for running a monopoly with a profit guaranteed by the state. Where does his skill and acumen enter into the operation. Why does he deserve this kind of compensation and he demands that these employees have no power of collective bargaining? And what do you suppose these dispatchers make? $30, $40 thousand a year? If they can figure out how to do it, these jobs would be gone to India or China in a heartbeat and probably will be soon. All you need is GPS and a map to replace them. The business philosophy of this country is a disgrace to mankind.